Crossing over Bristol Road onto Spring Vale between the Bristol Cinema and Paynes Shoe repair shop on the other corner (1) . We then turn into Spring Road Street and turn right onto Sun Street West (2). Our next junction is Gough Street (3) and the next is Summer Street with the Sun St Fruit Store & Café on the corner (4).

We are now near the end of Islington Row (1) over the road is the site of the National Assistance Board, Welfare Department and Tax Office new office block (2) Then we are on Five ways looking back at Islington Row(3) still on Five Ways looking along Hagley Road (4).

Before moving down Hagley Road one last look of Five Ways in the 50's (1) next looking back down Hagley Road (2) The Junction of Francis Road and The Assembly Rooms (3) Now we have reached Monument Road (4).

Before We make our way through Ladywood I will pause for comments and additions on out trip through Lee Bank and Edgbaston.

I wonder what James Miller did in those premises to the rear of Paynes Shoe repairs?

The other photo that I will comment upon is the Islington Row one. The photo shows Foulkes who were furriers and the premises shown are Tudor House, 47 - 49 Islington Row. George and Elizabeth Foulkes were the founders of the company, two other brothers, Richard and Charles were also directors.

The company started in 1927 in Alum Rock Road, Saltley but soon moved to the Islington Row premises and were there until 1963 moving quite close to Calthorpe Road until 1990. Presently there is listed Foulkes Furriers in Ladywood Road. What, if any, connection there is to the original company I cannot say.The Islington Row premises, as can be seen, was large and contained rooms with a dedicated theme. The place was amazing apparently, full of antiques, stuffed birds and stuffed animals. I wish I had been in there but sadly I never did.The rather splendid limousine outside the Islington Row premises may have belonged to one f the Foulkes family or a customer of course.

When I was a child living in Balsall Heath with my grandparents Sunday Morning was a very boring time for us children. To get us from underfoot whilst cooking Sunday Dinner we were sent for a ride around the Inner Circle number 8 bus route. This cost around 4d a child and the year would have been around 1955 when I would have been about 8, I would have been accompanied by one uncle aged 9 and an aunt around 14. Our biggest problem would be deciding if we would travel clockwise or anti- clockwise around the route.

It seems that we always chose the clockwise route more often than not. So for illustration purposes that is the route I will try to reproduce here. The route is basically the same today, though it has changed a little. I will try to reproduce the 1955 route as near as I can remember, but please forgive me if I stray a little off path because it has been a long time. For guidance this is the route today.

Please join me on this journey and add anything about the route that you wish to be it a memory or a photo. I ask only one thing, that you keep to each section of the route as I lay it out, as memories and photos of Sparkbrook for instance would make little sense in the Hockley part of the route. I will give plenty of time for additional comments between each section, though at the end of the route there will be time to comment on any part of the route.

Phil I often wanted to go on that route , whichever way clockwise or anti . The question I'd like to as is how long did it take to go all the way around . The other route I wanted to explore was the no 11 outer circle , that's another missed ambition